End of Season Dinner, Wendover

The RAF Athletics season drew to a close with the now traditional dinner in Wendover. This year it was hosted in the Raj Indian restaurant and athletes came from as far away as Boulmer to celebrate the activities of the last season. After pre dinner drinks in the Red Lion Pub, we moved onto the curry house and sat down to a varied selection of Indian cuisine. Following the sheepish late arrivals of a few of the athletes, dinner commenced.

The evening was rounded off with a few words from the Chairman, Gp Capt Blore, on the events of the past season and his perception of the improvement the team has made over the last 12 months. One of the major points he made was that a great deal of young talent was starting to emerge and promised great things for the future. The team manager, Charlie Petersen, then went on to sum up the season and this was complimented by a 10 min video compilation of media from the previous year.

The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the Don Halliday Trophy for the athlete of the season. This was preceded by Don, talking about the reasons for the trophy and the benefits he was privy too during his time in the air force which saw highlights like reaching the Olympics. A variety of athletes were mentioned for varied reasons but 2 stood out from the crowd. Tony Higbee was highlighted for his strong emergence onto the track and field scene this year. He performed strongly throughout the year in the many events covered by the decathlon and has been recognised at combined service level by being nominated as athlete of the year. The overall winner though was Matt Blunden for his tremendous progress throughout the year to become one of the outstanding distance runners in the RAF. In his first year in the event he dominated the Steeplechase and won the Interservice title. In addition to this he holds top positions in the majority of the RAF distance rankings on the track and the road. Don Halliday presented the trophy at the end of the night.

The night drew to a close with some moving on to the local night life in Aylesbury. Overall a very successful evening and a big thank you must go to Khym Pascoe for all her hard work in organising the event.

Inter Services, Portsmouth

This year’s Inter Service competition was held at Victory Stadium, Portsmouth. The day started off with some quite heavy showers, which became intermittent throughout the day. The RAF athletes gathered quite early after having caught the Gosport ferry from their accommodation at Naval Base Fort Blockhouse. Once team captain FS Frank Chapman (Odiham) had given the moral boosting team chat the athletes gathered around the first event of the day, the men’s Hammer.

SAC Kev Davies (Honington) and Sgt Pete Lowe (JSSU Cheltenham) were throwing for the RAF and SAC Davies managed to put the No.1 International Army thrower under pressure as early as the 3rd round when he threw a huge distance of 59.15m. This was enough to win the competition with Sgt Lowe finishing 5th with his 2nd longest throw of the year with 40.88m.

In the means’s Javelin event Flt Lt Tom Dobbing (PTC Innsworth) threw with a jog approach due to a muscle injury and still managed to throw 55.48m although this put him 2nd behind the winning Army throw of 63.09m. SAC Stu Benson (Waddington) & SAC Tony Higbee (Odiham) kept up the long tradition of a 1-2 in the Long Jump with SAC Benson landing his 2nd longest jump of the season with 7.27m and SAC Higbee finally cracking 7m with a PB distance of 7.03m.

The 1-2 was maintained in the men’s Triple with FS Rudi Farquharson (Cosford) just out jumping his apprentice SAC Benson with a distance of 14.09m and yet another 1-2 in the men’s Pole Vault with Sgt Bob Kingman (Brize Norton) turning out for his one event of the year to clear 4.01m just ahead of Flt Lt Adam Davies (High Wycombe) who cleared 3.80m.

On the track SAC Daz Robinson (Northwood) was looking in great shape for a winners medal before clipping the 2nd last hurdle and crashing to the ground on the last. He still managed to pick himself up to finish 4th behind fellow RAF athlete Cpl P Thomas (Cosford) who finished in 61.0s. The 100m saw SAC Benson & Cpl Sam Bonsall (Cosford) finish 3rd (11.0s) & 5th (11.1s) respectively competing against 2 high class Army runners who finished in dead heat times of 10.5s.

The single-lap event saw SAC Paddy McLernon (JSU Corsham) compete in an exciting finish to the line to come 2nd to the Army with a time of 49.9s a SB performance. In the 1500m SAC Dan Lewis (Brize Norton) finished 2s behind the Army with a time of 4.04.8 and Fg Off Rob Hughes (Shawbury) ran an outstanding last 50m finish to pip the Army for 3rd place in 4.05.8.

In the 110mH Tony Higbee suffered a ‘Blocks’ slip after 2 previous faulty starts to recover and finish 3rd in 15.3s just ahead of Plt Off Rob Barker Davies (EMUAS) who ran because of the injured SAC Robinson. Plt Off Barker Davies then had to withdraw from the men’s 200m due to injury and was replaced by SAC McLernon who ran yet another eye catching performance to finish second in a time of 22.0s. His team mate Cpl Bonsall was hampered from running a better time after his shoe slipped onto his heel on the last bend, but he still managed to finish 3rd in 22.4.

The 3000m SC saw SAC Matt Blunden (Waddington) run a superbly paced race to win in a time of 9.27.9 with Cpl Ronnie McWilliam (Waddington) finishing 3rd in 9.52.0. The Discus saw SAC Davies and Flt Lt Davies finish 2nd & 3rd respectively with SAC Davies throwing a PB distance of 43.45m.

In the ladies events the only 2 wins of the day came in the 400m where SAC Becky Scotcher (Wittering) ran an evenly paced race to win in 59.4 and SAC Julie Hammond (Northolt) winning the 100mH for the 3rd consecutive year in 16.6. SAC Hammond also completed a memorable day with a 2nd place PB Long Jump of 4.85m.

Another outstanding all-round performer on the day was SAC Kate Smith (Coltishall) who finished 3rd in the Javelin (29.78m), 3rd in the Discus (26.57m) and 2nd in the Shot (9.34m). AC Helen Jessop did extremely well in her first Inter Services to finish 3rd in the High Jump with a leap of 1.45m. Finally another top 3 finish went to SAC Camille Spencer (Benson) whose work in the pre season tour to Cyprus helped her to finish 3rd in the 100m in 13.9s

Although all the relays were won by the Army there were close finishes in the ladies 4 x 100m who were just pipped by the Navy for 2nd place and in the men’s 4 x 400m, with a team put together at the last minute due to injuries throughout the day to finish 1 second behind the Army in 3.23.0s. This was another battling performance with some superb individual leg times, in particular Cpl Sam Bonsall who was drafted in at the last moment to run a timed lap of 49.8s.

In the final analysis although the men’s team were pushed into 2nd position with a margin of 17 pts from the Army and the Ladies were pushed into 3rd by 2 pts from the Navy, there were some brave and commendable performances with a host of PBs and SBs. All the athletes should be proud and take heart from their performances, particularly against a formidable and continually ‘International’ fielded opposition.

Results

Inter Station Final

Mens Plate

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SIR SEFTON BRANCKER AND SEAX TROPHY MATCH

The RAF Athletics squad gathered at the North London stadium in Wood Green for this year’s competition between the RAF, Middlesex & Civil Service. The weather was humid and threatened to break out into a serious downpour, but fortunately only sporadic showers appeared.

The first win of the day came with Daz Robinson in the 400mH with 55s and Phil Thomas finishing 3rd. This was quickly followed by a win in the hammer for Kev Davies with a SB throw of 59.23m. On the track Sam Bonsall and Rob Barker Davies finished 4th and 5th respectively in a blanket finish time of 11.4. The 800m produced a fine run from new find Rob Hughes from Shawbury who was just pipped to the line with a time of 1:56:2s. The veteran runner Bob Payne ran second string in this event.

In the 400m Andy Banks ran a good race finishing 4th in 53s flat and was followed by James Bruce who was competing for the first time for the RAF. In the 200m Daz Robinson and Sam Bonsall ran in another tight race with both finishing in a time of 22.8s and Robinson just getting the nod. The 1500m saw a battling Willie Duncan finish in 3rd in 4:10:2s. The all-rounder Tony Higbee finished with 2 wins, in the High Jump with 1.85m and 110mH in 15.1. Rob Barker Davies ran his first full 110mH race this season and finished 3rd in a time of 16s dead which he will surely improve this season.

2 of the most impressive performances of the day came from Martin Whitehouse who lead from the front in the 3000m to win in 8:28:8s and also Matt Blunden’s win in the 2000m SC in 5:58:7 with Ronnie McWilliams finishing 2nd with 6:17:9. The men finished 2nd in both the 4 x 400m and 4 x 100m relays with a close finish in the latter in 44s.

In the ladies competition it was pleasing to see so many new faces competing for the first time. Kelly Angus had a good strong run in the 800m in 2:41:2s and the 400m saw Becky Scotcher win easily in 59.7s. The Long Jump saw Julie Hammond and Renee Whitehouse Jump well finishing 2nd and 4th respectively with distances of 4.58m and 4.09m. Julie also ran in the 100mH in a time of 17.3. In the 3000m Kim Pascoe ran a strong gutsy race to finish 3rd in11:41:2s.

Womens Team Manager Wendy McCormack showed her versatility by performing in the Discus, Shot & Javelin with her best position of 3rd in the shot with a put of 7.88m. The 4 x 100m relay team came 2nd despite the baton being dropped on the 2nd changeover. Special mention must go to some of the newer female athletes who competed for the first time; George Francis, Kim Beyer, Tanica Waller, Kat Hill and Liz Aspden.

After combining the days results with the cross country scores, the ladies finished 3rd overall. The men finished 2nd in the day’s match but after combining the scores with their cross-country results, finished as winners overall with 231pts, a margin of 20pts ahead of Middlesex. This was the men’s 4th win in a row and equals the most consecutive wins in recent times.

On a day when many of the first choice RAF athletes were absent, both men’s and ladies teams fielded athletes who competing for the first time in an RAF vest, and all the athletes performed admirably should be pleased with their day’s performance.

Match result

Overall result

Results

RAF Championships

Sir Andrew Humphrey Trophy Winner - SAC Stu Benson

STC Champs

PTC Champs

Results

CC Air HQ Ramstein Championships - Belgium

This year the CC Air HQ Ramstein Championships found the RAF track and field team travelling to Belgium. For many in the squad, this annual fixture is a first chance to compete Internationally and interact with personnel from other countries outside of an operational environment. Representatives are drawn from the Belgian, German, Dutch, USA Europe and UK air forces and traditionally provide a chance for the athletes to benefit from top quality competition. This year’s match produced exceptional results with PBs and SBs galore, and helped to consolidate the superb team spirit that has been building within the squad.

The first of what would be many PBs during the day came from SAC Daz Robinson (RAF Northolt) in the 400mH, recording a time of 54.81secs and taking first place into the bargain. This was done under intense pressure from an American rival who pushed him all the way to the finishing line. This really set the tone for the rest of the meeting and inspired the team to great things. In the men’s long jump event, SAC Stu Benson (Waddington) proved his class by winning the event, with high flying Flt Lt Gary Monroe (London) backing him up to secure valuable points. Sgt Collette McGinn (RAF Valley) returned to regular competition for the team with a fine leap of 4.47m after a long absence overseas in Cyprus. Flt Lt Wendy McCormack (RAF Benson), as well as being the women’s team manager, posted sound performances in the shot put, discus and later the in the relay, clearly showing her support to the team.

Special mention must go to Flt Lt Tom Dobbing (PTC Command). Fresh from representing Scotland in the recent Loughborough International, Tom hurled his spear out to the phenomenal distance of 70.44m. To put this into perspective, at the present moment, that ranks him 4th in the national rankings compiled by UK Athletics. In past years it would also have qualified him for a place in the Commonwealth Games. Unfortunately with the Scottish throwing standards have been increased this year so his quest continues!

The 200ms for men brought another PB for squad newcomer, Plt Off Rob Barker-Davies (CAM), with a time of 22.83 secs. Cpl Sam Bonsall (RAF Cosford) completed the teams strong representation in this event. Cpl Marcus Maxwell (RAF Brize Norton) pushed hard to come close to his PB in the 10,000m track event, just being edged out by the German competitor. The 400m allowed SAC Paddy McLernon (JSU Corsham) along with Daz Robinson to post great efforts of 52 secs dead and 51.21 secs respectively. The 110m hurdles saw the first of many performances of SAC Tony Higbee (RAF Odiham), fresh from his individual victory in the Inter Service Decathlon the previous week. After a good start, he pushed all the way to record a PB of 14.98secs and helped the team to secure some valuable points.

The mens 1500m saw SAC Matt Blunden (RAF Waddington) continue his amazing progress this season by breaking the 4min barrier for the first time in a time of 3:59.11, followed closely by SAC Dan Lewis (RAF Brize Norton). Stu Benson in addition to his winning performance in the long jump, showed his class by dipping under the 11 sec barrier for the first time this year by an RAF athlete in the 100m, and along with backup from Sam Bonsall, shows that the team may start to challenge the Army in this area. SAC Becca Scotcher (RAF Wittering) showed she was a force to contend with, coming third in the 100m and recording a great time of 13.30 secs.

One of the many stars of the afternoon was SAC Sam Taylor (JSU Corsham) who dramatically broke his PB for the 800m by running the race from the front, never an easy task. He unfortunately faded in the last 100m but brought his time down to 1:55.79. Another PB was earned by SAC Kev Davies (RAF Honington) in the discus, launching his plate out to 40.88m. Flt Sgt Ruddy Farquharson (RAF Cosford) posted a good result in the triple jump to take first place, leaping 13.98m, showing that this internationally ranked veteran is starting to come into form for the main part of the season. Tony Higbee competed yet again, this time in the high jump, to come within 2cm of his PB with a jump of 1.95m.

The relays proved to be one of the major highlights for the team. In the 4x100m, Bonsall, Benson, Barker-Davies and Higbee, all shuck of the fatigue from their own events to secure a superb win over the traditionally fast American team, with Higbee only securing victory in the last 50m to bring the team home in 42.76 secs. The 4 x 400m event was equally dramatic, with the team of Higbee, Taylor, Robinson and McLernon, leading from the early stages of the event and fighting off a late surge by the Americans to take overall victory in 3:23.89. The womens team managed to field 2 teams in the 4 x 100m with the A squad coming second and the B squad having the distinction of beating off the national Belgian squad in the overall standings.

The final point scores for the Men had the German team taking overall 1st place with a score of 187 points after consistently strong performances all afternoon and the Americans managed to hang onto 2nd place from the RAF Team by only 2 points, 171pts to 169pts. The women performed well to take joint third with the host nation. However, the benefits of the day’s competition were clear with the number of PBs and SBs as well as the incredible team spirit shown throughout the afternoon, not only by the competitors but by the enthusiastic support shown by their team mates both on and off the track. With only limited space not everyone can be mentioned but the overall team spirit is one of the major strengths of the team and was clearly evident during the whole period. Man of the Match was a difficult decision for the team manager, but after much deliberation the honour went to Daz Robinson after such strong performances throughout the afternoon including a superb personal best on the 400mH. The award was especially apt after Daz had to miss most of the previous season through injury making his current exceptional form all the more special.

The night finished with a traditional awards ceremony, with all other nations present, followed by a slightly less traditional push into Antwerp for a night of fostering International relations. All the more interesting because of various performances in a Karaoke bar and the various mixed nation conversations on the hour long bus journey into town. Overall a superb competition with some outstanding performances and it all promises a strong team to take on the Army and Navy later on in the year in the Inter Service Championships.

Results

INTER STATION FIRST ROUND

Results 1st Venue

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RAF ATHLETES TAKE TOP HONOURS IN INTERSERVICE DECATHLON

The Inter-Services Decathlon Championships were held at ??S Temeraire, Portsmouth 26-27 May. The RAF was represented by a team of 3 – Chf Tech Frank Chapman and SAC Tony Higbee from RAF Odiham and LAC Mark Plowman from RAF Benson.

The first day saw some fine weather and some even finer competition. The first event was a strong one for the RAF and put the team into an early lead. Tony ran the 100 metres in 11.3 seconds, Mark 12 seconds dead and Frank 12.4 seconds. Good points for the team were again to be had in the Long Jump with Mark and Frank jumping close to 6 metres and Tony jumping close to 7, thus extending the RAF’s lead. The Army clawed back some points in the Shot Put with one of their athletes putting in a 13-metre plus attempt. Even so, Frank and Tony managed over ten and a half metres each, with Mark taking the honours amongst the RAF athletes in the Shot Put with a distance of 11.12 metres. The potential for the Army to close the gap came with the next event, the High Jump, as they had two recognised high jumpers. However, with Frank jumping 1.65 metres, Mark 1.77 and Tony 1.92, the lead was maintained. The last event of the first day saw Tony storm home in a personal best time of 51.8 seconds in the 400 metres, with Frank and Mark both running close to 56 seconds and picking up good points.

The start of the second day saw the RAF team extend its already strong lead, with excellent 110-metre hurdling from all 3 athletes. Tony looked very smooth in running 15.7 seconds, with Frank coming home in 17.4 seconds and Mark in 17.8 seconds. By now the RAF’s lead was looking very healthy indeed. There were nervous moments in the Discus, however, when Tony and Mark both had two no-throws apiece and were in danger of no-scoring if they fouled a third time. Fortunately both came through with legal throws to ensure that the team’s position was not endangered. All 3 athletes were a bit disappointed with the Discus results, but Frank’s encouragement to forget about the events that had finished and focus on the next one took their minds off these and onto the Pole Vault. Overall this was one of the RAF team’s weaker disciplines, nevertheless Mark vaulted close to 3 metres, with Frank and Tony jumping near to 3 and a half metres, which was more than enough to build on the lead they had over the Army team.

In the penultimate event, the Javelin, Mark and Frank threw well over 30 metres each and Tony pulled out a great throw of around 40 metres. This result meant that the team had achieved a virtually unassailable lead over the Army with the final event, the 1500 metres, yet to come. Providing that all 3 RAF athletes completed the 1500 metres, the team’s victory was assured, but a top 3 placing in the individual competition was in sight for all 3 of them, so no quarter would be given. In very hot and humid conditions, the Decathletes faced their least favoured event with determination and good humour. In the end, it was fitting that the 3 RAF athletes crossed the line almost simultaneously, in times of just over 5 minutes. They knew that the team title was theirs and that the RAF once again had the best all-round athletes in Services athletics.

Tribute should be paid to Frank for his support and encouragement of the RAF’s multi-eventing fraternity and his leadership by example as Men’s Team Captain. He is a real team player who is always there for other athletes and the team as a whole. Tony once again showed what a supremely talented athlete he is and he will remain a key individual for the Men’s team for years to come. His performance and ability certainly impressed the UK National Decathlon coach, who is keen to take Tony under his wing. Well done Tony, a great result. Special mention should also be made of Mark, who in his first outing as a RAF athlete more than held his own. He produced a strong all-round performance to finish with a Bronze medal in the overall competition, a silver medal in the RAF Championships and help the team to a hugely impressive victory. At 19, he is a real talent for the future. RAF Decathlon is in great shape at the moment, with some good young athletes coming through, including one or two who couldn’t make these Championships. If you want a taste of the unique camaraderie and support that exists amongst multi-event athletes, why not give Frank a call – he’ll be glad to hear from you and once you’ve got a taste for it, you’ll be hooked.

Individual Results

Detailed Results

LOUGHBOROUGH INTERNATIONAL

Flt Lt Tom Dobbing (Innsworth) and SAC Stu Benson (Waddington) were both selected to represent Scotland in the recent Loughborough International, the traditional season opener for the top flight of athletics in the UK!

Both performed well, showing that they will be a force to be reconned with at the Interservices this year. Tom came 6th in the Javelin with a throw of 64.78m and Stu leapt 7.20m in the Long Jump to take 6th place.

COMBINED SERVICES MATCH, LOUGHBOROUGH

This annual fixture was held on a sunny but rather cool evening at the Loughborough University track. For many of the athletes it was an opportunity to compete against high calibre athletes from the 2 universities. This fixture historically was a Loughborough vs Royal Air Force event, but due to the strength of the Loughborough Team and later the Brunel team, it was decided a number of years ago to field a Combined Services (CS) team. This is currently the only Track & Field CS event held and enables new athletes too obtain their CS vest.

The competition got under way with SAC Kevin Davies in the Hammer competition throwing an impressive 57.27m and taking 2nd place for the CS. The first track event of the evening was the Men’s 400mH in which SAC Das Robinson ran for the CS. Das ran a very gutsy run and although his technique may have slowed him down on the last bend his strength and determination saw him hit the line 1st in a time of 56.30m. This was an impressive performance and Das seems capable of taking at least 1.5s off his time once he perfects his technique.

In the 100m Guest A race, Cpl Sam Bonsall ran a time of 11.05s for the CS. Sam’s times are improving with every race and both he and his coach Mark Owen will be desperate to break into the 10 second barrier soon. Cpl Bonsall also ran in the 200m Guest A race together with SAC Das Robinson. This was a well-fought race right to the line with Cpl Bonsall holding off Das Robinson to win the race in a time 22.43s. SAC Robinson will be pleased with his time of 22.73s considering he had run a tough 400mH race earlier in the evening, and Cpl Bonsall will be happy that he completed the evening with 2 quality well run races.

In the field, Flt Lt Adam Davies had a busy evening moving between events. He began the Shot Put with a throw of 13.79m earning him a 3rd place for the CS. His next event was the Discus where he threw 40.06m, the fact that he had to sprint!! to the Pole Vault would explain why he did not have enough time to prepare his run up and did not record a height, Prior planning…..etc. FS Frank Chapman did record a height of 3.20m and will be looking to consolidate at the next RAF meeting.

In the Triple Jump Fg Off Nav Childs jumped an impressive 14.46m off a short run-up. This was after arriving late to the venue and having a limited warm up time. In the Long jump SAC Stu Benson continued to impress with a leap of 7.08m, again off a short run-up. The performance was highlighted by the fact that Stu had at least 4 other jumps in the 6.90’s and showed excellent consistency. Under the coaching guidance of FS Rudy Farquharson both these athletes look like setting PBs this season.

In the High Jump Sqn Ldr Nick Watson leapt to a height of 1.80m and Flt Lt Tom Dobbing had an outstanding throw of 67.5m in the Javelin, a new RAF and Inter-Services record, a superb effort.

In all it was a good evenings work by the RAF as part of the CS team, with some good individual performances. Also, a special mention should go to Sqn Ldr Dave Webster who threw in both the Hammer and Discus events, and after many years representing the RAF finally got a Combined Services vest. Well done Dave.

Mens Results

Womens Results

Cosford Outdoor Season Opener

It was a dry but blustery morning that heralded the beginning of the traditional season opener at DCAE Cosford. Facing us were a multitude of University teams as well as Shropshire and the Police and it was clear the challenge that lay ahead would not be easy. This was further complicated by various members of the team being unable to compete due to injury and the majority of the distance squad attending the National 12 Stage Road Relays. We were undaunted though and team spirit was high following on from the success of the recent pre season training tour to Cyprus.

The match started with the throwing events and we got off to a good start with Fg Off Alex Thompson surprising all with a throw of 38m15 after a long layoff, showing promise for the rest of the season. SAC Kev Davies continued the RAF effort in the hammer producing a solid performance, ably showing that he had overcome his recent knee injury on tour. SAC Mike Wright stepped in at the last minute to post a good season opener in the Pole Vault (2m 97) epitomising the trend of team spirit that was shown throughout the match. SAC Stu Benson, SAC Tony Higbee and SAC Kev Hibbins demonstrated our dominance and strength in depth in the long jump. Stu jumped 7m03, over 7m for only the third time in his career and Kev looks well on his way to being a regular in the team again.

The 100m provided a heart stopping moment when the multitalented Tony Higbee twinged his ankle after a false start, but he got back on the line and provided a commanding performance to dominate the field in a time of 11.3secs. Not to be outmatched for drama, Cpl Sam Bonsall was pushed all the way to a deserved first place by Mayhew of Birmingham. Newcomer to the team LAC Mark Plowman also ran as a guest and showed that he has a great deal of promise for the future. The 1500m served to showcase a new athlete to the team in the form of Matt Pearson, providing a gutsy run in his debut performance to gain valuable points for the team.

The 400m allowed the duo of Mike and SAC Graham Wright to showcase their form after the hard efforts they put in during the recent tour and Graham was especially rewarded with a PB by 0.2 of a second. Mike continued on with Cpl Dave Lemon to perform well in the 400mH. The javelin was an unusual event with Tony Higbee proving his team spirit again by risking injury to get points for the team. In addition, Cpl Paul Wright, a PTI at DCAE Cosford, stood in at the last moment to enthusiastic support from his comrades to get some key points.

Sqn Ldr Nick Watson who excelled himself to produce a win and seasons best of 1m88 provided one of the star performances of the day. Also one of the stars of the day was PO Rob Barker-Davies, recording a second place in a hard fought race in the 110m Hurdles and a third in the 200m on his debut performance for the team. This last performance was accompanied by Sam Bonsall just being edged into second place in the A race but proving he’s at his best once again.

The 800m provided the opportunity for Dave Lemon to show his talents at the longer distances running a great tactical race to put himself in a frantic fight for the line to gain points. These points were all the more crucial at this point as the overall mens competition had us only 4 points in the lead. The dedication of SAC Dan Lewis to the team by coming to run the 3000m after running a leg in the 12 Stage relays in the morning served to correct this though. He lead a controlled race along with Cpl Ronnie McWilliams to take a convincing first and hard fought for fourth respectively. With Fg Off Nav Childs recording a solid performance to take a convincing win along with Stu Benson it all came down to the relays.

The 4 x 100m was a sound demonstration of the potential this new young squad has as the team of Bonsall, Benson, Childs and Barker-Davies strung together a series of great runs to seal victory. Struggling in the last event it was left to UWIC and Birmingham to fight it out in the 4 x 400m with UWIC proving the eventual victors.

The women’s team managed a credible 4th overall with a small team of athletes. There were impressive performances from all athletes and in particular SAC Becs Scotcher in the 200m and JT Ren Whitehouse in the long jump which were as a result of their hard work and dedicated training over the last few months. Cpl Jo Chadwick successfully competed in the high jump, shot putt and discus showing her all round talent. SAC Jodie Matthews showed her strength by competing in a field event rather than on the track. 2 newcomers to the team Cpl Kim Beyer and SAC Kerby Colgan, showed enthusiasm and willingness to compete for the team which must be commended and thanked. Performances at this match bode well for future competitions.

Overall it was a great performance from an up and coming team and this was proved in the final result with a win by 14 points from Cambridge. With a number of individual stars on the day it was the team spirit showed by all and willingness to contribute that proved the star quality that took us to victory.

Results

Panpaphioi Championships - RAFAA Tour To Cyprus

The main focus of this years RAFAA Pre Season Training Tour culminated with a competition on 18 March at the Paphacios stadium where the athletes had been training for the duration of the tour. The RAF team were kindly invited as guests to the Panpaphioi Championships, which were a pre-cursor for the Pan Cypriot games. Due to lane restrictions for the competition the RAF team were not able to compete in any sprint events.

The weather for the day was extremely warm even when the 1st event, the discus, began about 9am. Sqn Ldr Dave Webster, Sgt Al Williams and SAC Tony Higbee were competing for the RAF. The contest started well as the athletes recorded distances of 32.06m, 32.90m and 31.42m respectively. SAC Higbee stepped up the pace in the 3rd round when he threw a personal best of 35.08m. Sgt Williams responded with a throw of 36.45m in he final round to take the lead. This spurred on SAC Higbee to match the challenge with his final throw of 39.48m, another superb personal best. Sgt Williams and SAC Higbee then moved onto the Shot. Sgt Williams finished with a best put of 11.50m just ahead of SAC Higbee who again showed his Decathlon potential with a put of11.00m, another personal best.

At the other end of the stadium Plt Off Chris Pearson was in his first Pole Vault competition of the year. Hampered by the quality of the pole provided he did extremely well to clear 3.60m. Also, SAC Julie -Anne Hammond completed 3 jumps in the Long Jump competition. All jumps were over 4.00m with a best of 4.10m, very consistent.

The first track event of the day for our athletes was the 3km for women in which Jnr Tech Millie Lepic ran in her multi-coloured socks! The temperature was now reaching the high 20s and the race was going to be an enormous challenge, but she was up to the task. The field was very small and not too competitive, but Jnr Tech Lepic ran the 7.5 laps in the true spirit of sport and ran alongside the lead competitor and encouraged her to the finish line. Although Jnr Tech Lepic ran well within herself it was a fine example of sportsmanship.

SAC Dan Lewis also ran well within himself to complete the 1500m in a comfortable time of 4.20m. He was pushed only on the final lap, but after injecting extra pace his main rival blew-out and resorted to backwards running, back flips and press ups to the finish line. Very strange!!

After a 2hr lunch break the afternoon session saw the field events continue with the Mens Long Jump. SAC Stu Benson and Flt Lt Gary (Darkness) Munroe were jumping for the RAF and had best jumps of 6.50m and 6.08m respectively. This was seasons best performance for both athletes and gave SAC Benson a chance to solidify his winter seasons training and for Flt Lt Munroe to assess his progress for this seasons comeback!!

SAC Tony Higbee now moved to his third event of the day the High Jump, and together with SAC Daz Robinson both gave credible performances. SAC Robinson cleared 1.75m with ease but just missed out on 1.80m which will surely come. Meanwhile, SAC Higbee on the back of his performances in the Discus and Shot cleared 1.95m, just short of another personal best and withdrew on 2.00m. This performance is definitely not beyond him on the performance seen today.

Fg Off Navid-Davis Childs competed in the Triple Jump event. He gave an impressive performance with 3 jumps over 13.50m including a best of 13.70m from a short run-up. Fg Off Childs technique and power has improved dramatically under the coaching of FS Rudy Farquharson and training partner SAC Benson. A high 14.00m is well within his grasp this season if he remains injury free and continues with his current progress.

Again due to lane restrictions we were not represented in the 800m men or women therefore only 2 track events remained for the men, the 3km and the 2km Steeplechase. Plt Off Tom Bailey, SAC Graham Wright and SAC Dan Parry all ran for the RAF in the 3km event. All the athletes acquitted themselves well with Plt Off Bailey running out a comfortable winner in a time of 8m 57s. This time was even more commendable considering the event had been brought forward 15 mins due to cancellations and Plt Off Bailey had to run in his trainers!!

In the 2km steeplechase event, Cpl Ronnie McWilliam, SAC Dan Lewis and SAC Sam Taylor competed for the RAF. The 3 were literally head and shoulders above the other athletes in the field and made for the front from the start of the race. All 3 ran at a competitive pace and the strength and technique of our athletes left them well in front. SAC Lewis ran out eventual winner in a time of 6m 28s closely followed by Cpl McWilliam in 6m30s and SAC Taylor in 6m 35s.

This was the final event of the day and although not all athletes could compete due to the restrictions mentioned earlier, valuable experience and progress was made by those who did compete and a majority of all athletes remained injury free ready to maintain the challenge of regaining the Inter Services Trophy.

RAF ATHLETICS TRACK SEASON STARTS

The 2005 RAF Athletics Season started in its normal fashion with the traditional indoor invitation meeting at the National Indoor Arena, Birmingham last week. Nine teams, including the Army, Navy and Loughborough University took part in this pre-season curtain raiser. Unfortunately, the fixture clashed with the RAF Cross-Country Championships with the result that the RAF were unable to field a strong middle distance squad, however, those athletes who did compete, did so with distinction and gained valuable experience against some of the best young athletes in the UK. Overall there was an excellent turnout for so early in the year with the numbers being swollen by over 100 guests.

In the 60m dash SAC Stu Benson (Waddington) showed huge early season promise by coming 3rd out of 31 starters, returning a very respectable time of 7.11sec. SAC Daz Robinson (JSU Northwood) and Plt Off Rob Barker-Davies also finished in the top half of the field in 7.33sec and 7.41 sec respectively. In the ladies event Cpl Janet Scott (Cranwell) returned from injury to record 9.00sec.

Our 300m sprinters were up against Nigerian international athletes and to their credit were not overshadowed. SAC Paddy McLernon (JSU Corsham), recently returned from Basra, finished in 36.65sec, a split second ahead of Rob Barker-Davies in 36.83. Janet Scott again sprinted for the ladies and recorded 46.09. In the 600m, SAC Graham Wright (Digby) made his debut fishing 14th in a time of 1:30.1sec and JT Tertia Ritchie (Digby) took a useful 5th in 1:56.1 sec for the ladies.

In the field our Shot Putters performed with distinction with Flt Lt Adam Davis (STC) taking 3rd place with a throw of 12.95m and Flt Lt Tom Dobbing (Cosford) taking 4th with 12.68m. CT Frank Chapman (Odiham) took an extremely impressive 2nd place in the Pole Vault with a clearance of 3.45m and Cpl Tanya Bosworth took 4th place in the ladies Long Jump with a leap of 4.44m.

Arguably the performance of the day came from SAC Tony Higbee (Odiham) in the High Jump where, against a strong field, he took 2nd place, clearing 1.90m. Other notable results included: Stu Benson’s 6.43m in the Long Jump, Tony Higbee’s 8.63sec in the 60m Hurdles, and the Men’s 4x200m time of 1:31.7sec. The outstanding civilian performance of the day came from Lee McConnell of Loughborough Ladies, who set the second fastest time ever on the UK list indoors and achieved a Scottish national best of 37.57 seconds in the 300m.

Results